Filter – Crazy Eyes

As a backer of the PledgeMusic campaign, I was able to download Crazy Eyes today at 6:00PM EST. Personally I think it’s the best Filter release since The Amalgamut, and since I spent a good deal on my pledge, I’m pretty stoked about it. Here’s my short review on each track.

Mother E – This is a really, really good intro to Crazy Eyes. It goes from whisper angry to wailing angry, a style that I feel is a signature Filter thing. According to Richard Patrick’s commentary to backers, no guitars were used in creating Mother E. Which completely boggles my mind. What the heck is making the guitar sound? It’s a heavy track, and according to Patrick it may be the heaviest Filter song to date. Personally I think Columind is heavier musically, or even Watch The Sun Come Out Tonight lyrically, but who am I to argue with the Filter frontman.

Nothing In My Hands – The chorus of this song is addicting. And what’s even better and makes me both chuckle and appreciate it more is that the first and second verse of this track were recorded in one take, without any pre-planned lyrics. According to Patrick they just kind of mumbled whatever, liked it when they played it back, and kept it. I freaking love when Patrick sings “your justice is dead” four times in a row. I think it’s just how he sings it – higher than the rest of the words, which adds a cool twist to the otherwise dark feel. The chorus part “there’s nothing in my hands” is accompanied by some steady background tune-age that eventually builds up into this really great bridge around 3 minutes in. It’s a definite head-bang-dancer tune and would probably be one of the best Filter tracks to hear live.

Pride Flag – Another track that goes from angry loud to quiet. This song is a-okay.

The City of Blinding Riots – I knew this had to be a play on the U2 song City of Blinding Lights just from reading the title, and Patrick solidified my theory in his commentary. According to him, Blinding Riots is the anti Blinding Lights song. A reoccurring lyric is “burn that fucker down” and upon first listen, lyrically speaking, I was instantly reminded of the song Burn by Dope. But Filter delivers almost the same words with the same message in a classier, layered way that I truly enjoy listening to. Definitely one of my favorites.

Take Me To Heaven – This was the first single off Crazy Eyes. I really enjoy it, and the moment I heard it I knew Crazy Eyes would deliver promising stuff. And it has.

Welcome To The Suck (Destiny Not Luck) – First of all, the title of this rocks. I’m a sucker for anything that tries to rhyme. It’s no Welcome To The Fold though. It’s pretty hard to beat a manic line like “you get yourself a nice cold beer and drink yourself away.” This is one of the slowest songs of the bunch, but it’s not bad. I like that the title of the song made its way into the lyrics. It would be a blast to sing back at a live show.

Head Of Fire – This right here is a Win Song, and is my favorite thing off Crazy Eyes. The driving guitars, the signature quiet to loud, the not silly lyrics, the fun beat of the chorus, the crazy cool bass line, the way it abruptly ends… it’s brilliantly, brilliantly done. According to Patrick, this song is about his wife being angry at his vaping. In his commentary video he is laughing about it in such a way that would bring a smile to anyones face. Whatever the reason, I’m so happy this musical composition was created.

Tremors – Another very well done track. Of all these new songs, I think Tremors is most reminiscent of old school Filter.

Kid Blue From The Short Bus, Drunk Bunk – My second favorite song off this record. The chorus is so awesome. It’s about an ex-bandmate who drunk calls Patrick a lot, and apparently the song was written as a form of revenge against him. If only all revenge was channeled into something this punk.

Your Bullets – This was the first track written for Crazy Eyes, and it’s an overall solid piece. Classic Filter in a nutshell.

Under The Tongue – It’s mostly an instrumental, and I freaking adore it. There’s a part near the end where it gets all quiet and a macho man goes “Look within. Be still.” To me it has old NIN remix written all over it. This song originated from a jam session and all the parts were pieced together on a computer. It turned out impressively awesome.

(Can’t She See) Head Of Fire, Part 2 – The other slow song on this album. This song instantly had me thinking back to the Thanks Bro days, a track that I’ve always been very fond of. This track has a verrrry pretty tune musically, I believe it’s with an acoustic guitar, and the fading in and out of voices gives it another dimension, making it rather interesting to listen to. The lyrics are dark, the tune is lovely, and it’s a fantastic end to this thing called Crazy Eyes.

I would pay to see this entire album performed live from start to finish. Congrats on this release Richard Patrick, Oumi Kapila, Chris Reeve, Ashley Dzerigan and Bobby Miller of Filter!